Roadway litter and debris can be unsightly and a nuisance to many drivers. Large or heavy objects on a road, such as rocks, tires, and the like, can cause accidents and traffic congestion. To alleviate the problems associated with road debris, a number of vehicles and apparatus for cleaning roads and highways have been developed.
Many conventional road cleaning vehicles utilize a vacuum mechanism to collect litter from a road surface. Such road cleaners are typically designed to remove small or lightweight objects from a road. Other vehicles may employ a brush or rake element, either alone or in combination with a vacuum mechanism, to collect larger debris from a road. For example, common street sweepers scrub the road and the curb while collecting leaves, branches, and small pieces of litter. Although such vehicles may be adequate for their intended uses, they cannot collect large or heavy objects from a road. Thus, items such as tires, hubcaps, bottles, or rocks may be left behind by many road cleaning vehicles.
Some debris-collecting vehicles are configured such that the vehicle must drive over the debris before it is collected. The driver of such a vehicle may not be able to immediately determine whether or not the vehicle successfully collected a particular object. If the vehicle fails to collect an object, then it may be necessary to repeat the process by driving over the object a second time. Alternatively, the driver may have to exit the vehicle to manually collect the debris. Unfortunately, it may be unsafe or impractical for the driver to make a second pass or exit the vehicle if traffic is flowing on the road.
Variations in the road surface condition and/or the environment surrounding the road can cause problems for some debris collecting vehicles. For example, undulations across the road may cause some equipment to accidentally drive over an object without collecting it. Other vehicles may not perform adequately if the debris is located against a curb or a retaining structure.